Clothes support



April 24, 1956 w CRALLE 2,743,076

CLOTHES SUPPORT Filed Aug. 10, 1951 W/LZ/AM F C/QALL E Allmwuy This invention relates to a novel support for articles of clothing and more particularly to a support adapted to be engaged by coat hanger hooks for supporting a plurality of items of clothing normally supported by coat hangers, such as suits, coats of various types, trousers and skirts.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a clothes or garment support of extremely simple construction capable of being readily secured to a supporting surface and which, due to its construction is capable of supporting a number of garment bearing coat hangers.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel garment support which is so constructed that it will withstand and bear considerably more weight than an ordinary coat hook without yielding under the strain or being torn from its supporting surface thereby.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a garment support including a driven fastening cooperating with a portion of the support, when anchored in an upright supporting surface, for effecting a resilient clamping action between a portion of the support and the upright supporting surface to resist any tendency of the sup port to yield under an excessive load or to tear the driven fastening from its anchored position in the supporting surface.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating presently preferred embodiments thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the invention shown in an applied position and illustrating a preferred form thereof;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view thereof looking from right to left of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure l of a slightly modified form of the invention;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 of the form of the invention as illustrated in Figure 3, and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a part of the clothes support as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, and first with reference to the clothes or garment support, designated generally 6 and illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, said support consists of a body member, designated generally 7, and a driven fastening 8. The body member 7 is formed from a single strip of metal including an intermediate portion 9. The strip forming the body member 7 at one end of the intermediate portion 9 is provided with a downwardly extending portion 10 which terminates at its lower end in a turned back or reversely bent portion 11 which extends upwardly from the bend 12. The portion 11 extends upwardly to above the level of the intermediate portion 9 and the upper portion 13 thereof which constitutes one terminal of the strip forming the body memher 7, is disposed above the level of the upper surface of the intermediate portion 9 to form a stop, as will hereinafter become apparent. The bottom half of the portion 11 is disposed in abutting engagement with the down nited States Patent-O 2,743,076 Patented Apr. 24, 1956 turned portion 10 and said abutting portions are provided with registering openings 14 which are disposed slightly below the level of the underside of the intermediate portion 9. The opposite end of the strip forming the body member 7 extends downwardly from the opposite, inner end of the intermediate portion 9 to form a substantially fiat heel 15 which is disposed substantially parallel to the portions 10 and 11 and at substantially a right angle to the intermediate portion 9. The heel 15 is provided with an opening 16 which is disposed beneath and slightly spaced from the under surface of said intermediate portion 9.

The driven fastening 8 is illustrated in Figure l as a nail having anchoring barbs 17 adjacent the pointed end 18 thereof and which project generally toward the opposite end or head 19 of the nail 8. However, it will be understood that a nail having a smooth shank could be substituted for the nail 8 having the barbs 17 or a nail having a rough shank adjacent its pointed end may be employed.

The clothes or garment support 6 is adapted to be secured to an upright supporting surface such as a wall and is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 as being secured to a.

20 until the fastening head 19 is wedged tight against the outer surface of the outer portion 11. With the fastening 8 thus disposed, as illustrated in Figure 1, said fastening will exert an inward pressure against the portions 10 and 11 which will tend to force said portions to yield inwardly.

relatively to the intermediate portion 9 and the heel 15 and which will thereby force the heel 15 tightly against the surface 22. Due to the spacing between the intermediate portion 9 and the shank of the fastening 8 disposed therebeneath, said intermediate portion 9 will tend to yield and be bowed slightly upwardly. A single coat hanger hook 23 is shown engaging on the intermediate portion 9; however, it is to be understood that said intermediate portion 9 is adapted to be engaged by a plurality of coat hanger hooks 23 each forming a part of a coat hanger and each of which coat hangers is adapted to support one or more garments or articles of clothing. It will be readily apparent that the strain placed upon the garment support 6 will be transmitted thereto initially through the intermediate portion 9 which is engaged by the coat hanger hooks 23. This will cause the portion 9 to tend to yield downwardly into more nearly a flat condition to thereby more eifectively clamp the heel 15' against the surface 22 and as said heel is relatively long and extends to substantially below the fastening 8, the lower portion of the heel 15 will effectively prevent the support 6 from swinging downwardly and which movement would withdraw the anchored end of the fastening 8 from the strip 20. Furthermore, a substantial portion of the weight supported by the intermediate portion 9 will be directed downwardly against the portion of the fastening 8 which engages the opening 16 and which is so positioned relatively to the surface 22 that said portion may effectively bear the load without tending to bend the fastening 8 or without tending to pull said fastening from the strip 20. The stop portion 13 obviously functions to prevent the coat hooks from sliding off of the outer end and the intermediate portion 9. The reversely bent abutting portions 10 and 11 combine to provide a portion of twice the thickness of the portions 9 and 15 and which is therefore less resilient than said portions 9 and 15, so that when the fastening 8 is in a fully driven position to exert a pressure against the lapped portions 10 and 11 for urging said portions inwardly and toward the heel portion 15, the pressure thus exerted against said lapped portions will be transmitted thereby to the more resilient portion 9 to cause it to yield and be bowed upwardly slightly and will likewise be transmitted to the heel portion 15 to cause said portion to be yieldably biased against the surface 22, to thereby provide a support of extremely simple construction yet which due to its construction will be of a maximum strength to withstand and support an excessive load without the support yielding or bending under the load or being torn from the surface to which it is anchored.

Figures 3, 4 and 5 illustrate a slightly modified form of the invention, designated generally 6a including a body member, designated generally 7a which corresponds in all respects to the body member 7 except that its heel portion 15a is provided with an extension at the lower end thereof which is turned outwardly and upwardly with respect to the surface 22 to form a coat hook 24 on which a coat or other garment, not supported by a coat hanger, may engage. In lieu of the driven fastening 8 of the garment support 6, the garment support 6a is shown in conjunction with a driven fastening 8a wherein the shank is provided with a tapered wood screw portion 18a which is adapted to be driven into a strip 20 in a conventional manner by a screw driver not shown, applied to the kerfed head 19a of the fastening 8a. readily apparent that the screw-type fastening 8a may be employed with the body member 7 or the fastening 8 may be employed with the body member 7a. In view of the detailed description of the use and operation of the support 6, a further description of the support 6a is considered unnecessary.

Various other modifications and changes are likewise contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A garment support consisting of a body member and a driven fastener, said body member being formed from It will be a single strip of metal including an elongated intermediate portion adapted to be disposed substantially perpendicular to an upright supporting surface, a vertical portion formed of two abutting plies, one ply depending from one end of the intermediate portion and disposed at substantially a right angle thereto, and a second ply folded upwardly in contact with said first ply and extending above said end of the intermediate portion to form a stop; a heel portion depending from the opposite end of the intermediate portion and having an outer side adapted to bear against the supporting surface and terminating in a hook, said heel portion and vertical portion being disposed substantially parallel to one another and being formed integral with the ends of said intermediate portion, said heel portion and the vertical portion plies having openings disposed beneath and adjacent the underside of the intermediate portion, said fastener extending through the openings of the plies and the opening of the heel portion and being positioned thereby beneath and spaced from the intermediate portion, said fastener having a head bearing against the outer side of the outer second ply and having a terminal portion projecting from the outer side of the heel portion and adapted to be embedded in the upright supporting surface whereby said fastener exerts a pressure against said two-ply portion and heel portion tending to displace said portions toward one another, said two-ply portion being of greater strength than the heel portion and intermediate portion whereby said heel portion is yieldably held against the supporting surface and said intermediate portion tends to bow upwardly and away from the fastener.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 674,438 Edmundson May 21, 1901 891,539 Greenman June 23, 1908 1,115,818 Hickerson Nov. 3, 1914 1,855,241 Irwin Apr. 26, 1932 

